Chicago Canine Close-Up

Friday, November 14, 2014

by Lincoln Park Zoo

in

Chicago Wildlife Watch

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Many of the predatory mammals that live in and around Chicago are canids (a biological family including coyotes, foxes, wolves, domestic dogs and more.). These are among the species we see at the Urban Wildlife Institute as we sort through the more than 1 million photos of local wildlife we’ve gathered through the Urban Wildlife Biodiversity Monitoring Project.

Because canine species have similar physical traits they can be quite difficult to identify on Chicago Wildlife Watch, the citizen-science website where you help us ID Chicago’s wild species. With this guide, however, you should be able to identify canine species with confidence.

The Coyote (Canis latrans)

A coyote sniffs a scent lure at one of the camera-trap sites.

The coyote is one of the most successful medium-to-large mammals in urban areas, aside from possibly the raccoon. Like many of the urban-adapted mammals we see in Chicago, coyotes are omnivorous and opportunistic in diet. Urban coyotes tend to be nocturnal to avoid people, and find secluded spots within the city to hunker down for the day. In fact, there is a very good chance that you’ve walked past a coyote in the city and haven’t noticed!

To identify a coyote you should look for pointy ears, an elongated snout, a white belly and a black-tipped bushy tail that generally points towards the ground. Coat coloration for this species varies, but typically is a mix of light gray, brown, and tan.

A rear view of a coyote's black-tipped bushy tail.

A bushy tail and hair coloration are not always good indicators of a coyote, especially when the photo is taken at night. Of our three wild canids, coyotes have the least bushy tail and are between red foxes and gray foxes in terms of consistent coat color (with red fox being the most consistent).

In some occasions, you might come across a coyote with mange, a disease caused by parasitic mites that causes hair loss. Coyotes with mange can be easy to identify by looking at the other features above. Aside from domestic dog species, coyotes are the largest canid we see in our photos. If you can get a sense of scale from a photo (the lure bag is around 2–3 inches wide) and the species is rather large, it’s probably a coyote (see the first image above).

An example of a coyote with mange.

One additional note: if there’s a collar on the animal it’s not wild so mark it as a domestic dog. Some domestic dogs that are mistaken for coyotes in photos include German shepherds and collies. German shepherds have far more black on their backs and a black snout while collies are smaller and have much longer fur.

Even though coyotes create hybrid species with gray wolves, red wolves and domestic dogs, you will not see these hybrid species here in Chicago.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

A close look at a red fox's colorful coat.

Urban red foxes are most commonly seen in smaller neighborhoods with a diverse landscape. Their most recognizable characteristics include a white-tipped tail and black coloration on their feet and lower leg parts.

While we also said a bushy tail was a great way to ID coyotes, the tail on a red fox is significantly larger and bushier compared to the body. In fact, the red fox’s long and bushy tail is very versatile and is used for balance, protection from the elements and as a way to communicate or alert other foxes.

Red foxes have bushier tails than coyotes.

In terms of size, red fox are number two of our three wild canids, coming behind the coyote but in front of the gray fox. You can easily ID a red fox after you see the red fur, black ears and black leg-stockings.

Even in a nighttime photo, black ears and black leg-stockings can help you ID a red fox.

Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

In the 10 seasons of field data they've processed, this is the only photo zoo scientists have gotten of a gray fox.

While the gray fox belongs to the canid family, it is commonly mistaken for a large domestic house cat. This species does have some cat-like qualities as it’s the only known canid in this region that is able to climb trees! Gray foxes are quite small, low slung and have a tail that is almost the length of their body.

While they might be confused for cats, look for a black tail-tip and thick black hairs along the upper part of the tail. Their face is distinctly marked with white, black and rufous (reddish-brown) coloration. Gray foxes have a stocky appearance, a rounder snout and shorter legs than the red fox and coyote.

Even if the photo is black and white, you can tell these two species apart from their coat coloration (compare this photo with the one two above). The red fox has a much more consistent coloration while gray foxes have a very grizzled appearance (a mix of dark and light hairs). Size and body structure is the best way to differentiate between coyotes and gray foxes, as the coyote is larger, has longer legs relative to the body and a shorter and less bushy tail.

Although gray foxes are seen in Illinois, they are very rare in Chicago. In the 10 seasons of data that have been entered we’ve only collected one photo of a gray fox! It might be helpful to look for a photo of a gray fox in a popular search engine to get a better view of what it looks like.

Learn More

Heads Up on Local Wildlife
Zoo biologist Liza Watson Lehrer explains how an animal’s head posture reflects its sense of risks in its environment.

Field Work in the City
Cities may not be pristine landscapes, but plenty of animals thrive in urban settings, biologist Mason Fidino shares. See how zoo scientists are using more than 120 motion-triggered cameras to monitor local wildlife from the Loop to the burbs.